BJP seeks permission to screen Narendra Modi’s rally live on Sheila’s turf

Undeterred by the authorities’ refusal to grant permission to its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to hold a rally in New Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) has decided to set up LED screens across the constituency to ensure residents get to hear him speak.

The party had earlier planned to hold two Modi rallies on December 1, one in south Delhi and another one in New Delhi. But the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) denied the party permission to hold the rally in its area.

Senior BJP leaders had alleged that the NDMC acted on the instructions of the Congress-led state and central governments. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is the sitting MLA from the New Delhi constituency.

The BJP has approached the chief electoral officer, seeking permission to set up LED screens in all the assembly segments falling in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency so that people get to see the live telecast of the December 1 rally that will be held in Dakshinpuri.

“We had tried to organise rallies of Modiji in all parliamentary constituencies but we were denied permission in New Delhi. So we are exploring other ways to ensure people hear his views,” said Ashish Sood, in charge of the party’s publicity cell in Delhi.

All BJP candidates and the party’s election cell are working to identify locations with large gatherings to set up screens. “We will send the application to the district election office by Saturday morning,” he added.

Reacting to the denial of permission, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, through a Facebook post, said: “The environment at (Modi’s) rallies is electrifying. The authorities denied to him permission to hold the rally in the chief minister’s constituency. The prime minister’s Delhi rally has been cancelled so that they escape comparisons with Modi’s rally which will be held on the same day.”

Modi will now address one rally each at Shahdara in east Delhi, at Parade ground in Chandni Chowk and at Jalebi Chowk near Sultanpuri on November 30.

His last rally in Delhi rally will be held on December 1 in Dakshinpuri in Ambedkar Nagar constituency, where Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had addressed a rally earlier.